Red Sox shared baseball world in Boston with Braves years ago

A group from Springfield gets ready to take a Peter Pan charter to a Braves game in Boston in 1953.

Believe it or not, there was a time when the Red Sox weren’t the only baseball team in good old Boston.

From 1890-1952, the city also had a National League franchise. Mostly, they were known as the Braves, but they also had seasons when they were called the Beaneaters, Red Stockings, Rustlers, Doves and Bees.

The Braves left town after a disastrous 1952 season in which they had an average home attendance of 3,653. They moved to Milwaukee, where they stayed until 1965. Then came another move, to Atlanta. The franchise has been there since 1966.

Although the Boston Braves have been gone for 61 years, they continue to have a loyal fan base, known as the Boston Braves Historical Association. Members range from surviving Braves players like Mike Sandlock, 97, to young people who never saw the team play.

A World Series involving the Braves and Red Sox has never happened, but with both teams leading their divisions, maybe this can be the year.

It almost happened in 1948. The Braves won their last Boston pennant that year, but the Red Sox lost to Cleveland in the American League’s first pennant playoff. The Braves then fell to player/manager Lou Boudreau’s Indians in a six-game World Series.

The Boston Braves played their last home game Sept. 21, 1952, losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-2 before 8,822. Former Springfield Classical ace Jim Wilson was the losing pitcher.

FAME AND THE AHL: Hockey Hall of Fame electee Fred Shero is best remembered as coach of the Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers (1974, 1975), but he also had quite a background in the American Hockey League.

He was the first coach to win both the Calder Cup and Stanley Cup. He also had the honor of being named coach of the year in both the AHL (Buffalo, 1970) and NHL (Philadelphia, 1974).

Shero played 245 games as an AHL defenseman with New Haven, Cincinnati and Cleveland. He spent three seasons as Buffalo’s head coach (1967-70).

Shero’s Calder Cup victory came with the Bisons of 1969-70. His playoff roster included Roger Cote, a defenseman who had been a Springfield fan favorite for seven seasons.

Another new electee, Chris Chelios, came to the AHL late in his career after playing 1,651 games in the NHL, more than any other defenseman in league history. He skated in two games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in 2008-09, then spent most of the 2009-10 season with the Chicago Wolves. He appeared in 14 Calder Cup playoff contests, including his final pro game May 11, 2010, at age 48.

BEST BET for the weekend: Sarach, in the American Oaks at Hollywood Park.